willa &laquo; WordPress.com Tag Feedhttps://en.wordpress.com/tag/willa/
Feed of posts on WordPress.com tagged "willa"Sun, 02 Aug 2015 22:47:58 +0000https://en.wordpress.com/tags/enhttps://breakingeven18.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/pictures-of-us-short-story/
Thu, 30 Jul 2015 01:09:27 +0000breakingeven18https://breakingeven18.wordpress.com/2015/07/30/pictures-of-us-short-story/Willa looked at the photo of her and her friends all sitting together on a park bench. Her group. Everyone from senior year, sitting there and smiling. Everyone, being themselves and being carefree. But now, Willa was on a train, on her way far far away from all those old memories. She put the photo away in her diary and turned her music up, and closed her eyes. Might as well get some sleep.

*FLASHBACK*

It had been a year, a year since everything turned to crap. Her friends had all gone off to college, had all left her, forgotten. She lay awake in her room, at 3 am. A tear slid down her cheek and tickled her chin. Why did it happen to me? She rolled out of her bed and got dressed into leggings and a tight shirt. She grabbed her hoodie and tied up her hair in a messy ponytail. Might as well do something to get my mind off of this mess. She put her headphones in, and turned the music up rather loud, grabbed her bag and slipped on her boots. She quickly grabbed her favourite book before leaving. She walked out the apartment door, and walked down the stairs. The eerie coldness swept over her, making her shiver. She paused the music, and it was completely silent. No sound at all. She walked through the stairwell, feeling the cold of the cement walls, and the metal poles. She smiled and put her music back in her ears. When she got outside, the cold air hit her but she kept walking. She walked and walked and walked and ended up in Central Park. She heard the sound of cars speeding through the roads, cabs driving the drunks home. She looked around at her surroundings and wrapped her arms around herself to warm her up. Walking through the quiet park she found a tree to sit up in. She pulled out the book and started reading it.

A noise of scrunching leaves and breaking sticks made her jump out of her reverie. She looked around, seeing no-one. She had fallen asleep reading in the tree. She looked at the time- 5:30am- the sun should be rising soon. She swung out of the tree and landed silently. She packed her book away in her bag and went to start her music again. But as she turned to her pocket another noise sounded and she saw a flash of movement out of her eyes. She looked up, worried at what might happen. She shrugged herself out of being cautious. Sure there are creeps in New York, but they couldn’t do much damage to her. She had gotten lots of self defense classes when she was younger, and turned out to be a strong teenager. She put on her headphones and started walking with her iPod out, looking for a good song to start. She saw shoes in front of her, and without looking up she sighed “Excuse me, may you please move?” She looked up and gasped. There was a man in front of her, with his face half shadowed by a geeky black cloak, what she saw of his face is what made her gasp. He had scars of all kinds distorting every part of his face. He chuckled, which made her muscles tense, finally sensing the danger of the man. Before she knew it though, everything had gone black.

]]>https://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/skin-care-tuesday-2/
Wed, 29 Jul 2015 03:54:22 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/07/29/skin-care-tuesday-2/Hey awesome nerds, today I would like to talk about the fresh face cucumber mask for all you girls in need of something to do at a sleepover.

This cucumber-infused clay mask decongests skin by removing excess oil and pore-clogging impurities while soothing, softening and balancing. It leaves skin bright, healthy and seriously refreshed. Think of clay as a toxin magnet, drawing out all the bad stuff from the deeper layers of skin that aren’t reached with everyday cleansing. That’s why this mask is ideal when your skin feels off-balance, or just needs a little pick-me-up. You can buy the packets individually or in a pack of 12 for parties or just for yourself ;)

Now for the brains of the product. Clay decongests skin by drawing out excess dirt and oil Cucumber and Aloe Leaf Juice soothe, soften and hydrate Witch Hazel tightens pores, evens skin tone and reduces redness.

]]>https://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/summer-and-snowballs/
Sat, 18 Jul 2015 02:05:07 +0000melandwillahttps://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/summer-and-snowballs/I took a day off last week, which obviously meant time in the kitchen. It was a lovely change of pace to not be preheating the oven at 9:30 pm after finishing dinner and packing up a lunch for the next day. After a long and restorative hot yoga class, I opened my Chocolate Covered Katie cookbook to the first page to find a recipe for Chocolate Pixie Cookies. Or, the beautiful little powdered sugar coated cookies that I call Snowballs.

While part of me had thought of taking my extra time to make something a bit more complicated, I wanted to make something that I could easily mail. Like I think I’ve mentioned, one of my favorite parts about baking is baking for others. Its a gesture that has always felt full of love. And I had a friend that I thought could really use some of that love. So as soon as the cookies had cooled, I packaged up six in a little box and rode my bike to the post office to mail the snowballs and all of my love to New Jersey.

These cookies are the most straightforward thing I’ve made from this cookbook so far. Everything cooperated exactly as hoped. The ingredients were a bit more common than some of her others, which made it a bit more user friendly. I danced my way around the kitchen once the dough was made and I got to roll the balls in powdered sugar. That’s the part that makes them so fun. And the combination of the deep chocolate cookies and the white powdery sugar not only made the cookies look beautiful, but also made for a happy combination. Or, as my sister said, “I transcended.” Who knew that cookies had that power?

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a smaller bowl, stir together coconut oil, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until you form a dough.

Form balls of dough using your hands or a cookie scoop, then roll to coat in a dish of powdered sugar. Place balls on the baking sheets and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before removing from the cookie sheets.

These may just be the winner from the cookie section so far. They certainly did their job, at least. And when they arrived in New Jersey two days later, they made a dear friend smile really big. Do cookies really need to do anything else?

I absolutely adored A.G. Howard’s Splintered, the first book in this series (it was one of my favorite from last year) and so I couldn’t wait to see what she did with Unhinged! I got to see A.G. at TT4L (Texas Teens 4 Libraries Convention) and she was so sweet – one of my favorite authors ever! And she did a wonderful job with book two. Unhinged picks up the threads that Splintered left, deeper explores Alyssa’s character, and makes you want a Morpheus and Jeb.

In Unhinged, we pick up where Splintered leaves off, but a while later. Alyssa is at school, Jeb has just come back from time in London, and Morpheus is still present in Alyssa’s dreams. What was so wonderful about this book is that it takes a lot of the feelings Alyssa experiences for the first time and heightens them – her conflicted feelings between Jeb and Morpheus, the duty she feels to Wonderland and the desire to stay in the human world, the unresolved feelings with her mom – A.G. does an incredible job of really exploring those in book two and making Alyssa a more complex character.

Unhinged felt like it was meant to bridge the gap between Alyssa’s visits to Wonderland. There’s a lot of plot that feels like prep for something HUGE that (I think at least) is coming in the third book, Ensnared. That part of it was a bit disappointing, but after the HEART WRENCHING AND INTENSE ENDING I’m even more excited. Like, I need that book now.

This series has made me love the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland even more than I did before, and I love how A.G. has created her own world. She’s taken Lewis Carroll’s story, made it darker, questioned it, and elaborated. She’s brought it to life in the modern-day. It takes guts and a crazy good writer to do that, and A.G. is both of those – gutsy and talented.

I’m going to admit this upfront: I didn’t have high hopes for Proof of Forever, mainly because of my negative experience with some other summer camp books that I didn’t connect with.

However.

Proof of Forever is far more than a summer camp book.

It’s a story about friendship. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe are four girls who used to be best friends, but after their last year at camp, their friendships dissolved (which I completely relate to). When they come back together, it’s awkward at first, but after they’re thrown into the past, they become closer, and grow to understand one another in a way they didn’t before. They remember what their friendship was like, and how much they cared for each other. As they relive their last summer camp days, everything begins to change – secrets are revealed, the girls tap into parts of themselves they hadn’t before, and they grow closer than ever.

These girls were an incredible cast of characters. I loved the ripples in their friendship, the completely realistic moments where they jumped to conclusions, when they broke down in front of one another, when they surprised one another, and when they proved how much they cared for one another. Each one of them was unique and brought something different to their friendship, and made the four of them the four of them.

The story line started a little slow, but once I hit the middle, it picked up significantly. The story is driven by their desire to get back to their lives, but the majority of the book is spent in the past, part reliving the past, and part changing it. I enjoyed their uncertainty and then decision to live in the present, and not care how it would affect the future, separating this book from other time travel story lines. Things don’t go according to plan, and as they adjust to the changes in their past, the girls experience their summer in a new way.

Proof of Forever is a beautiful story of friendship and the power of trust and love between friends. As a rare gem in the YA world (a book focused on friendship and not romance) I appreciated it even more. If you love a good summer book full of friendship, I would definitely recommend Proof of Forever.

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Wed, 15 Jul 2015 02:59:09 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/07/15/skin-care-tuesday/So today for Willa I would like to highlight the new out-of-sight concealer pen. It’s kind of like the acne pen but instead it serves as a concealer for acne.

Out-of-sight concealer pen: Target trouble spots with this precision concealer, which delivers full yet totally natural-looking coverage. The lightweight, easy-blending formula camouflages blemishes, dark circles and redness, and features Marula oil to hydrate and protect skin. The secret to “no makeup” makeup? Applying concealer only where you need it like on pimples, under eye circles and areas with redness. It even comes in 4 different colors to match your skin tone.

And just a reminder that Willa’s products are all:

Paraben and sulfate free

DEA and phthalate free

Not tested on animals

Manufactured with ♥ in the USA

]]>https://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/i-guess-you-could-call-these-cake-pops/
Fri, 10 Jul 2015 00:05:36 +0000melandwillahttps://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/10/i-guess-you-could-call-these-cake-pops/I learned something about myself today. I don’t get along well with melted chocolate. It is rather overwhelming. And it requires lots of clean up. You can’t just dirty one bowl and spoon with metlted chocolate. It requires an army of spoons and spatulas and dishes. And it winds up in strange places. As in on my forehead. I have no idea how it got on my forehead.

I guess it was worth it though, because these “cake pops” got rave reviews. I call them Cake Pops in quotes because I couldn’t find any popsicle or lollipop sticks. So they were basically just cake balls, but that doesn’t sounds quite as appealing. I’ve never made cake pops before, so I was a little nervous. Nervous because Chocolate Covered Katie’s recipes are meant to be healthier and therefore use slightly less common ingredients and can be a bit difficult. They were a bit crumbly when dipping in the chocolate coating (also known as why I ended up with so much chocolate on my face and hands), but I got creative and poured the coating over the delicate ones and called it a day.

And at the end of the day, they were devoured. My sister took them to work with her today and I got post-it note thank you’s from her coworkers. They compared the cake pops to chocolate truffles, commented on how they were rich but not overly sweet, and called them chocolate heaven. In short, they wanted more. Flattery never hurts, and since I’m trying to bake as many of these recipes as I can– faster than they can be consumed in our household– they will be getting more recipes to sample.

In a medium bowl, combine milk, yogurt, water, coconut oil, and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until combined.

Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Melt the bag of chocolate chips in a deep cup or bowl.

Line a plate with parchment paper. Using a small cookie scoop, break off small pieces of cake and roll into tight balls.

Place a cake ball on a spoon and swirl in chocolate coating. Repeat to coat all the cake balls. [note: if the balls start to fall apart, pour melted chocolate coating on top] Top with sprinkles or other toppings/decorations of choice.

Refrigerate until the coating hardens.

The recipe had specific instructions for the coating, but it didn’t work for me. So I improvised.

One of my favorite parts of making these was knowing that other people were going to enjoy them. It’s one of the reasons why I love to cook and bake. It makes people happy. The blue post-it notes that came home at the end of the day made me feel like I had accomplished something. So if you ever want to make people happy, make them balls of chocolate cake, cover them with melted chocolate, and make them look pretty with sprinkles. It will work.

-willa

]]>https://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/chocolate-chocolate-chip-banana-bread-cupcakes/
Wed, 08 Jul 2015 23:38:33 +0000melandwillahttps://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/07/08/chocolate-chocolate-chip-banana-bread-cupcakes/It’s a mouthful, I know. But the mouthful is worth it because, just like the name, the cupcakes have just about all you could need in a cupcake. I even took it one step further. But we’ll get to that. I decided I should be adventurous and make something besides cookies. Mel has made cookies, bars, and muffins, so it was about time for me to branch out. In my house, there never seems to be a shortage of bananas. Everyone seems to be really picky about how the banana has to look in order to be eaten on its own. Which means that as soon as a banana gets spotty, it’s put in the category of ‘to be baked with’. In short, my mama makes batches of banana bread large enough to feed the entire neighborhood. So when I flipped through Chocolate Covered Katie’s Cookbook and came across these cupcakes, I thought that I might as well put one of our far too ripe perfectly good bananas to use.

In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients (except the cookie butter cups!) and stir well. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until evenly mixed.

Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each only a little more than half way. The recipe told me it would make 10, and I ended up with 12.

Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, until cupcakes have risen and domed and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Take the cupcakes out of the oven and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin.

Press one cookie butter cup into the center of each cupcake, if you so desire. Your stomach will thank you. Refrigerate leftover cupcakes in an air-tight container.

These cupcakes are really quite easy. The most time-consuming piece is mashing the banana. Kitchen cleanup didn’t take very long either. Major plus. My favorite part about making cupcakes is frosting and decorating them. So I felt a bit disappointed at the end when I didn’t have any fancy piping to do atop my cupcakes. In fairness, the recipe offers a frosting recipe, but it required ingredients that I did not have. Cue the cookie butter cups. They both made the cupcakes a bit prettier, and, if you asked my sister if they complimented the cupcakes, she would respond with a text message that would make ‘Yes’ seemingly the longest word in the dictionary. I even got “good job” from her Spanish friend, who, in his words, wished me congratulations on my cupcakes. Even my mom liked them. And my mom isn’t a huge dessert fan. She took one for lunch dessert– and for my mother, that is a big deal. I made her one without the Cookie Butter cups– so do not fret if you don’t have them. The cupcakes will still taste good. These cupcakes came at the perfect time. Baking is very therapeutic for me, sometimes just following a recipe from start to finish is all I need to fall asleep with a smile on my face after a not-so-easy day. But things were just not going my way when I made these cupcakes. And then I got to mash a banana. And then things started to go a bit better. The moral of the story is this: Bananas go well with Chocolate. And Chocolate Chips. And Cookie Butter Cups. And these cupcakes have them all.

-willa

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Sat, 04 Jul 2015 14:29:05 +0000Dee'z Dazzling Designshttps://deezdazzlingdesigns.wordpress.com/2015/07/04/omd3-nail-art-challenge-black-gold/Today’s theme in the OMD3 Nail Art Challenge is Black & Gold. I at first thought maybe I would do some Pittsburgh Pirates nails since I am a big fan. But with the holiday I have been busy getting ready for a family get together so instead chose to do something a bit more simple. For the black nails I started with 2 coats of Zoya Willa then added a coat of China Glaze Golden Enchantment and a small gold rectangular rhinestone. For the gold nails I used 3 coats of Pipe Dream Polish champagne kisses and then add A Kiss Nail Artist butterfly nail sticker. Simple and easy for a busy day! I topped them all with a coat of Glisten & Glow HK Girl top coat. Excuse the horrible cleanup job on the close up of the gold nail lol. I am trying to hurry and get everything done that I need to get done before we leave today lol and didn’t even notice until I was editing pics.

That’s right I’m reviewing a book and if your wondering why its taken me three years to get around to book reviews that’s because I have never really been a huge reader but I have recently decided to try and delve into the world of literature and too give you my opinion on some popular and obscure book titles.

The first book I am going to be reviewing is Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson, this title is the first in this very popular series.

The book focuses on the lives of five teenagers (Finn, Charlene, Philby, Maybeck and Willa) who have been offered the opportunity to become virtual Disney Hosts, if you have ever been to Walt Disney world you will have noticed cast members walking around and offering help and guidance to the guests.

These teenagers are becoming DHI’s (Disney Hosts Interactive) allowing them to have holograms of themselves walking around the Magic Kingdom as virtual cast members, all five of them agree to have virtual versions of themselves created and afterwards they part from each other and get on with their lives.

Or at least that’s what they wanted to happen but unfortunately every time they go to sleep they wake up as their holograms in the Magic Kingdom, they learn that they have no control over this ability from an old man named Wayne who they meet every night while they are in hologram form.

Wayne explains to the teenagers that a great darkness and evil is trying to take over the Magic Kingdom and possibly the world, these evil entities have been code named the Overtakers, Wayne also explains that all five of them have been chosen to be the heroes who will eventually save the day.

The Overtakers seem to be famous Disney Villains who reside in some of the parks more famous attractions, The villain in Book 1 is Maleficent the evil witch from Sleeping Beauty, she is very spooky in this book and she tends to talk in a whisper like and raspy voice which definitely makes her character much more creepy.

She uses a lot of magic throughout the book although most of time she is using to try and kill the five heroes and at times the book takes a very dark turn because of this, by far the scariest part of the book for me is when all of the dolls in its a small world come to life and start trying to bite the five main characters.

The only character I really connected with in the book was Wayne and that was because he was very mysterious and a lot of time I personally felt that he had a very ghostly vibe to his character which often allowed me to see him as a guardian angel watching over the heroes, unfortunately he was also the only character that i found remotely interesting as a lot of the other characters were a bit too normal and boring for my tastes.

I was very impressed that the way Ridley Pearson described the layout of the park and the attractions was very accurate to the layout of the Magic Kingdom in real life, this is a nice touch for people who visit the parks often as they can visualize the descriptions in the book to those areas in the real park.

In conclusion Kingdom Keepers Disney After Dark was a fun book to read but overall it wasn’t that interesting and at times I felt that it overstayed its welcome, if your a fan of Disney then this book is definitely worth your time and even if your not a fan of Disney this book is fairly cheap to pick up and is worth giving a shot especially if your a fan of adventure and fantasy.

I hope you enjoyed this review of Kingdom Keepers Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

By Padawan

Want me to review a specific game/movie/product or do you have a general question you would like me to answer? if so please email me at ragglefragglereviews@gmail.com

You can find me on Miiverse by searching for draskafer

]]>https://cannoteven.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/scream-ep-1-recap-forecast-for-season-one/
Thu, 02 Jul 2015 20:12:29 +0000JosephMartellihttps://cannoteven.wordpress.com/2015/07/02/scream-ep-1-recap-forecast-for-season-one/So it’s been almost a week since MTV’s Scream: The TV Series premiered and gut reactions seem to be mixed. There it is…that word…MIXED. In the realm of critique, this pretty much means there were just enough people who didn’t really hate your show to save it from earning the dreaded “negative” rating and “rotten” score on every horror buff’s favorite site. All of the sarcasm intended (seriously, find me a horror film with a “fresh” rating…I’ll wait).

Since the interwebs are pretty much bursting with opinions on the premiere, I’ll try to keep my thoughts brief and candid. Let’s dive in!

CAST PERFORMANCE: Good, not great. This doesn’t apply to everyone because John Karna pretty much nailed it. The rest of the cast didn’t quite deliver. I don’t know if this is MTV trying to keep things palatable for their target audience, or if the actors really are as inexperienced as they seem but just about everyone’s performance was supremely lackluster. Things were way off, from Willa Fitzgerald’s all-over-the-map mood swings to Carlson Young’s super-awk rant with the teacher she’s been doin’ it with in “study sessions” (I mean seriously, what high school student knows what a scotch and soda is?). John Karna, keep doin’ yo thang.

PLOT DEVELOPMENT: To make up for some apparent mediocre casting choices, it seems like showrunners have picked up slack with the development of a storyline that I actually give a damn about. Though I will say I’m not too crazy on the whole psycho-killer-from-twenty-years-ago thing because let’s be super honest—it’s been done to death. Bullied kid gets bullied some more and then wrongfully “killed” before disappearing at the bottom of a lake…uhm…Jason Voorhees, anyone? Not to mention this time, AND this time. I digress—I appreciate the whodunit setup here because it literally could be anyone behind that mask.

HOMAGES & EASTER EGGS: They had to be present or I’d have been the first of many to cast some serious side-eye at MTV post-premiere. The opening scene left a little bit to be desired, but we get it. It’s the 21st century, so I guess it wouldn’t really make sense if Bella Thorne threw on some Jiffy-Pop and answered an actual phone call, god forbid. However, I definitely appreciate Carlson Young’s “I’ll be right back” and the killer’s call to Willa Fitzgerald—strike previous phone call comment. It had to happen somewhere in there. This is STILL Scream.

So there it is! A few ups and downs, not the smoothest start in history but hey. Let’s keep a little perspective here. This is MTV trying to successfully reboot what once redefined an entire genre. I rest my case.

As for the rest of the season, the promo below is pretty much what’s going to keep me coming back from week to week because it looks like there are some serious Wes Craven-sized reveals still to come, and I have no complaints about that.

From what I can gather, the show is sticking to form with a potential accomplice-killer and some major scares. That alley scene’s throwing me all the way back to Sarah Michelle Gellar circa IKWYDLS. #amirite? Sound-off in the comments below!

I’ve always been fascinated by emancipation, and this book shows both the good and bad of being emancipated. The fact that you have to clean your own house? Bad. The fact that your parents aren’t around telling you when to go to bed? Good. In Emancipated, these six teenagers turned housemates become their own family. They help each other to reach their dreams, confront their fears, and tell the truth.

John-Michael was by far my favorite character from the cast. He’s funny, insightful, and definitely the most complex character. When his homophobic father dies, John-Michael is left with the money from the will but no family. He’s reeling from the details of his father’s death and is keeping secrets from his roommates, so when his world comes crashing down, he has to decide how much he’s going to share. John-Michael kept me reading honestly; I wanted to know how everything turned out for him.

The rest of the characters annoyed me a little bit because many of them seemed fairly stereotypical, but not so much that I didn’t enjoy the story. The friendship that builds between them was definitely a highlight and made up for their slightly stereotypical personalities as individuals. This book, in many ways, is about friendship, and I loved that part of it.

As far as the storyline, it’s drama-filled. The story bounces between points of view so you get a little taste of the secrets that every character is hiding, but you can’t quite piece it all together. There are little details missing, and once those come to light everything clicks. It’s the ending that killed me! Major cliff-hanger, but Reyes has no plans for a sequel. (Although I’m not sure what would be done in a sequel, so I’m kind of happy with the way it ended.)

This book is definitely one for the drama lover. If you love a good drama and a friendship story, you should definitely get your hands on this one!

Fireworks are exploding from coast to coast. Whether you’re floating in Muskoka heavens or surfing through the crowds downtown in red and white gear, we wish you the best day ever!

Featuring the likes of Carly Rae, Magic!, and Maestro, we’ve got a playlist that’s gonna make you proud to be Canadian.

]]>https://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/skincare-monday-3-step-daily-routine/
Tue, 30 Jun 2015 00:02:00 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/skincare-monday-3-step-daily-routine/Hello people, considering it’s skincare Monday I am going to introduce you to Willa’s 3 Step Daily Routine. It is very similar to the 3 Step Acne Care Treatment I showed you last week but the only difference. It works less on acne and more on the dirt and oils on your face.

Start Fresh Foaming Face Wash: Gently removes dirt, oil, and makeup without stripping skin. (and rumor has it that men use it for shaving cream, remember that these products are not only for girls but for boys as well). Features naturally hydrating and protective ingredients. And it comes in a travel size. my comments: I mainly use this product to take off my makeup without all the chemicals in my usual makeup removers. I originally got the travel sized bottle but I later got the bigger bottle, and it is huge. So now I have a bottle for at home and a small one for when I’m on the go.

Face Friendly Clear Moisturizer: Packed with nourishing natural ingredients for that healthy hydrated glow. Lightweight, fast absorbing formula that won’t clog pores. Plus it’s fragrance and oil free. my comments: It seems very oily but it’s not. And remember to wash it off when your done because once I left it on by accident and my face got all sticky.

Face the Day SPF 30 Tinted Face Protection: Broad Spectrum UVA/UVB facial sunscreen is oil, fragrance, and chemical free. Lightweight, dry-finish formula leaves skin powdery-soft, not sticky. The Universal tint camouflages the chalkiness of powerfully protective zinc. my comments: It made my skin look very light when I put it on but that’s probably because I have slightly darker skin. It absorbs very fast though.

Alright that’s all I have for today. Again please feel free to comment any thoughts or questions. Sorry if you think my pic is in a weird place, I’m still figuring out all the settings. See ya tomorrow.

]]>https://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/3-step-acne-care-treatment-via-willa/
Thu, 25 Jun 2015 18:08:08 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/3-step-acne-care-treatment-via-willa/Before I begin, I told you that I love answering questions. But this time I have a question for you. What sort of catch phrase should I use to start and end my posts. Please comment and give me some ideas.

Alright, back on topic. Today I want to introduce the 3 step acne care treatment. All it took for me was applying all 3 products 2 times a day everyday. Within a week my face was practically flawless.

Just keep in mind I will be elaborating more on the products, once or twice a week. Everyday I will be talking about something new. From skincare to fashion. That’s all I have to say for today. Don’t forget to comment on those catch phrases.

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Wed, 24 Jun 2015 02:17:02 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/hey-everybody-waves/Hello everyone. For those of you who don’t know me I am a Willa girl. I made this blog so I can share Willa and all my tips and trick used during my daily life. I will try to post weekly if not daily, I’ll try my best. To the boys who are reading this some of this may not apply to you but feel free to check out all my other posts. I am currently still trying to figure out all the settings for my blog so pay no heed to the tabs above just the posts before you.

Before I let you go I will give a brief description about myself. I am a fangirl, I take it very seriously. I am not very athletic but I try. I love my friends and family (including my 3 dogs). I love traveling. I am single but not available. And I am a triple threat: singer, dancer, actress.

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Wed, 24 Jun 2015 01:28:42 +0000melandwillahttps://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/oatmeal-chocolate-chunk-cookies/One of my coworkers told me that I should forget about any future aspirations and bake. He told me that after he tried one (actually three) of the oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies that I made on Sunday afternoon. It was very flattering, and the cookies were really quite delicious. I like the cookie section of cookbooks. Cookies allow for creativity and personality and choice. No matter how hard you try- even if you use a cookie scoop!- they will all come out a bit different. But I like that. Any cookie recipe can be made exciting. All it takes is adding a few things and using your hands, not a cookie scoop. So for my second recipe, I made more cookies. I chose the recipe “Chewy Oatmeal Crinkle Cookies,” which I cannot find on Chocolate Covered Katie’s website. Don’t worry- I will not deprive you of the recipe. I love oatmeal cookies. They’re chewy and crunchy all at the same time. And they go really well with brown sugar (although what doesn’t?). And chocolate chunks. The recipe did not call for chocolate chunks, but I couldn’t resist. There was an unopened back in the cupboard just asking to be opened and put in cookies. Plus, I was making them for someone at work’s birthday, and chocolate is always a safe bet. So after I finished making the dough, I dumped in a cup of chocolate chunks and was very pleased with myself.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:

3 1/2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon ground flax

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chunks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, milk, ground flax, and vanilla. Allow it to sit for at least 5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all remaining ingredients and stir very well. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir until a dough forms.

Transfer dough to a gallon-sized resealable plastic bag and smush into a big ball. Remove dough from the bag and form about 15 balls of dough. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before placing on a cooling sheet.

I am usually able to let the cookies cool before sampling. This was the exception. It was a good thing I didn’t wait though, because they lasted all of an hour at the office.

-willa

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Tue, 23 Jun 2015 19:20:28 +0000musicgirllvhttps://willagirlalex.wordpress.com/2015/06/23/hello-world/ I found out about Willa a year ago. I could never find a product that actually worked on me, that’s when I found out about Willa. check out the link below to find out more info.

Friday was the start of the weekend and there were a lot of events happening during NXNE. The first event I went wasn’t part of NXNE but it was an important for myself because it was the Polaris Music Prize Long List panel at ACTRA RACS. Steve Jordan, the founder of Polaris was moderating and the panelists were Slava Pastuk (Noisey Canada), Nicole Villeneuve (AUX), Tabassum Siddiqui (Freelance) and Lana Gay (CBC Music).

The panel talked about the criteria of the music prize and who they voted for in the current list as well as mentioning past lists. Jordan brought up about having the longest list since there’s always debate and discussion on which albums got snubbed or left off from the ballot. It was a great event and always a treat to see the people behind Polaris.

CBCMusic.ca Showcase at NXNE Hub
As Friday was a jam packed event at NXNE in Toronto, the first event was the CBCMusic.ca presents: Music at the NXNE Hub. It was a free show at NXNE Hub. The hosts for the event were Grant Lawrence, Tom Power (of CBC Radio 2 Morning) and Jonny Harris (Murdoch Mysteries).
The performers consisted of the 2015 Searchlight winner, Orange O’Clock. Other performers on the list were Jane’s Party, Ben Caplan, Iceage (from Copenhagen, Denmark) and Toronto’s catl.
I was able to check out Orange O’Clock and Jane’s Party as I decided to head off to other venues. I did return for catl, which they played an awesome set.

Other Acts I Checked Out
I went over to The Horseshoe Tavern to look for a friend and was able to catch part of Chastity Belt. They were pretty rocking a good set and then I went over to Sneaky Dees to check out Vancouver musician, Willa. For those who don’t know, Willa is Ali Milner and she competed in CBC’s Cover Me Canada. I did watch the reality competition show. Willa’s music brings a sense of dark, electro pop feel. Her performance brought some energy and low lighting emphasized the dark moody nature of her music.

Friday night was quite the fun journey with the venue hopping and catch a lot of music.

You can check out the photos at Flickr by clicking three ways;
Click HERE for the Polaris Music Prize Panel.
Click HERE for the CBC Music show at NXNE HUB
Click HERE for the Chastity Belt and Willa photos.

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Sat, 20 Jun 2015 12:02:22 +0000melandwillahttps://somewhiskybusiness.wordpress.com/2015/06/20/peanut-butter-cookies/About a week ago, I arrived home to a box sitting on my doorstep. Inside was Chocolate Covered Katie’s cookbook– full of concoctions to please a sweet tooth. I assumed that Mel’s challenge would be easy enough– recipe by recipe, cook them all. So a couple of days later, I opened the cookbook up to a Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and began. Mixing oats and brown sugar, I started to get excited, imaging all the smells that would fill my kitchen throughout the rest of the summer. But about halfway through the recipe, things took a turn for the worse. I didn’t have enough coconut oil, nor enough chocolate chips, and the batter just was not holding together. So I did what my instinct told me to do– added some chopped up chocolate (because not enough chocolate chips was by far the biggest problem!), greased an 8×8 baking pan, and made bars instead. While I was somewhat proud of myself for having solved my baking crisis, I still felt a bit disappointed. The point of the book was to make the recipes in it, not to make up my own. I’d have to try again.

The challenge with Chocolate Covered Katie’s cookbook is that it is designed to provide health conscious alternatives to certain ingredients. Normally, this is great. I’m a big fan of using applesauce or coconut or oats in baking. Occasionally though, this makes recipes a bit more particular. There’s a little less wiggle room, and for someone like me who has gotten used to improvising a bit while baking, it requires me to slow down. So I decided on her Peanut Butter Cookies recipe for my second First Attempt. You can find the recipe here, though in the cookbook the recipe is doubled. Double it. You won’t be sorry you did.

Singing along to the Beatles, I got to work. I mixed together the peanut butter, applesauce, and vanilla, confidence returning, because really how could one go wrong with that combination? I would recommend using peanut butter that is a bit colder and sturdier. It may make mixing a bit more difficult, but you will be thankful when you go to form the balls of cookie dough. I use the grind-your-own peanut butter from Whole Foods, and the texture was perfect.

I got a bit ahead of myself and didn’t thoroughly read through the next step before I started measuring and mixing. The recipe asks you to mix the dry ingredients together before adding them to the peanut butter paste, but I just added them ingredient by ingredient and disaster did not strike.

You have the choice of chilling the dough before baking. I cannot offer an opinion on this because I did not do it. And then my habits of not following instructions too carefully came back and I forgot to set a timer for the cookies. I can tell you, however, that I baked them for longer than 8 minutes. I don’t think my cookies have ever been done after the recommended time. I’m starting to think this might be because I make bigger cookies than the recipe suggests. If I had to guess, I would guess I baked them for about 12 minutes. They were still soft, and probably could have baked for a few minutes longer, but after they cooled, they were holding together just fine. With the doubled recipe, I got about 20 relatively small cookies, though the cookbook says the recipe will make 24 to 28.

These cookies are good. There are some peanut butter cookie purists in my house and they give these cookies two sticky thumbs up. In fact, my 20 cookies had dwindled to 16 within a half hour. They are soft and creamy and peanut buttery and they make your kitchen smell really, really good. Good enough that I felt qualified again to have something to say about baking.

I found my place in the kitchen somewhere between spending a year in France and the stress of school. I started baking big batch recipes at 12 am, weight lifting slowly off my shoulders with each turn of the beater, with the forming of each ball of cookie dough. There was something comforting about being given a recipe, knowing that if I followed the steps, I would end up with a pre-determined finish product. And then somewhere along the way, I stopped following the specificity of a recipe quite so strictly. Adding gingersnaps to crumble toppings and pretzel chunks to chocolate chip cookies, I found my own tastes emerging from the recipes I had drooled over on the internet. My intention is to follow these recipes as closely as possible, but I see nothing wrong with straying ever so slightly every once in a while.

With one not-so-perfect attempt and one delicious success under my belt, I’m whisking my way through this cookbook.

When I met Aisha, and she told me about her book I immediately knew that I would love it. I love stories like this – ones about topics I know absolutely nothing about. And I’d like to say that this book educated me just a bit. (But I want to know more!)

Written in the Stars tells the story of Naila, a senior in high school who is bound for college in the fall. She has a boyfriend (who her parents know nothing about) she’s incredibly in love with, a best friend (who she is barely able to hang out with outside of school), and loving parents. Naila desperately wants a future with Saif, her boyfriend, but her parents will never let that happen – Naila will have an arranged marriage to a man of her parents’ choice. This is what drives the book: Naila’s disagreement with her parents over her future. When her parents find out about Saif, they decide to go on a family “trip” to Pakistan, where they go in search of Naila’s future husband.

Naila’s story is one of love and personal growth. She’s virtually alone in Pakistan with her feelings because she can tell next to no one about Saif. Her dreams of going home are pushed further and further away, and as she is confronted with the reality that she may never go home, Naila has to adjust to her new life. Naila’s emotional growth during this book is incredible – she grows from a teenager girl into a woman through her experiences, but never loses hope.

I adored this book. The writing, the characters, the story – I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. If you haven’t read this book, do it now. You’ll love it.

Robyn Schneider is one heck of a writer, you guys. Not only does she craft utterly beautiful sentences, she also has a masterful hand when it comes to plot lines and characters. The thing that draws me to Robyn Schneider books over everything else though is that her books are full of NERDS.

That’s right.

NERDS.

Can we get more nerdy characters in YA? Ones like Lane who have spent their entire life working incredibly hard at school, taking a ton of AP classes and have put aside their social life for their grades? The ones who make bad classic literature puns and are fluent in French? Who love physics and history? I want more of these characters, because as someone who fits into the category (minus the fluent French and love of physics) I don’t see this part of myself in that much of YA. And I want more.

Schneider brings the nerds to the table, though. Lane arrives at Latham House with a stack of AP work and a belief that he will get better ASAP and then return to his life. When he learns that he physically cannot do this or it will kill him, his entire life changes. He goes from being withdrawn at Latham to talking to Sadie, who he knows from a summer camp they both went to at thirteen. Sadie and her band of friends (Nick, Charlie, and Marina, I love you) teach Lane about the value of living in the moment and how, although school is important, the connections you make with people are even more valuable. I really connected to this journey and it was so comforting and eye-opening to see this same journey in a character.

Sadie is this mish-mash of rebellious and self-conscious. She hides the part of her that’s self-conscious though, and is known as the girl who gets contraband alcohol and food for the Latham residents. Secretly, she fears the possibility of returning to the outside world after a year and a half at Latham and no change in her illness. Lane teaches Sadie about hope and love and taking risks, and helps her see more light in her life.

The world of Latham and tuberculosis that Schneider creates is incredibly believable. Believable in that I could definitely seeing this happening in our society – an illness spreading the way TB does in the book and dominating the fears of citizens. Of sanatoriums and widespread fear of survivors of the disease. The residents of Latham confront the hatred of those who are not diagnosed, and who fear catching the disease. They grapple with not only their diagnosis but also their future – if they get better they go back to their old lives, except those lives will never be the same. Sadie contemplates this a lot throughout the book, and becomes one of her biggest struggles – what would she do if she recovered? These characters’ journeys of illness are rare in YA, as Schneider addresses in her author’s note at the end of the book, and I agree with her that we need more of them.

Latham is based partly off of Hailsham from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (a book I need to read but a movie I adored), and focuses on recovery. But at the same time, the residents of Latham, like those in Hailsham, live in this world so incredibly isolated from the outside. They only see one another, school is basically a joke, and they struggle to find ways to feel normal. They don’t have cell phones, they all distance themselves from things like Facebook (the reminders of home hurt too much), and people always end up falling in love with one another. Except, as Sadie points out, it usually doesn’t end well.

” . . . if the past year had made me certain of one thing, it was that love stories at Latham all ended the same way: with someone left behind.”

Lane and Sadie’s story of love and loss broke me in half. They’re so beautiful together, and they both have to face impossible questions about their lives that I can’t imagine. Their strength, hope, and determination inspire me.

Schnieder’s new book Extraordinary Means made me think about love, friendship, and our futures in ways I hadn’t in a while. It made me contemplate the way I view my own future (and present), and the stigmas that surround illness in our society. To say the least, Extraordinary Means was a thought-provoking and emotional ride that I loved every second.

Hilary T. Smith’s novel Wild Awake blew me away. Her writing is stunningly gorgeous, and her novels are both unique and relatable. A Sense of Infinite, though, topped Wild Awake. It’s heart-wrenchingly beautiful, addicting, and just . . . incredible. In the wake of losing her best friend, Annabeth struggles to find people who get her, and I can relate to this. I understand how she feels: as if the people around her don’t understand her.

One of the main themes is Annabeth’s grapple with self-love and what she thinks people think of her. She’s very concerned with what people think of her, and the history of her birth used to make her believe that she is worthless. Noe pushed that belief away, and Annabeth tethered herself to Noe because of the way Noe made her feel valued and important. So when Noe pushes her away because Annabeth told someone about Noe’s problems, Annabeth returns to thinking that she is worthless; that her mother doesn’t love her.

“The snowbank didn’t want me. There was no use fighting. I don’t believe everything I hear in songs, but when you lie in a snowbank for an hour without falling asleep, the message is pretty clear.”

Annabeth’s story of finding a way to love herself and move on from her past touched me in a way few books do. Through the support of her incredible family (particularly Ava, her cousin) and Steven, Noe’s boyfriend and also one of Annabeth’s close friends, Annabeth begins to become someone who is happy. She has a future she is excited for. Her journey is one that all teenagers should hear about – her journey to health, to happiness, and to self-acceptance.

One element of this book that I think Smith did an incredible job with is Annabeth’s abortion. Annabeth makes her decision immediately, knowing she can’t take care of a child and more importantly, doesn’t want a child at her age. The way Annabeth approaches her decision and handles the aftermath wasn’t one I’ve seen in YA before. Usually, abortion = depression in YA, but in Annabeth’s situation it only helps her become someone who can love herself.

Hilary T. Smith’s newest book is a treasure. I wish every teenager would read it, because I know that it changed me. It helped me see the beauty of nature, of friendship, and of love – the self-love kind. A Sense of Infinite is absolutely stunning.

Either I missed the hype on this book or there wasn’t enough of it because HOLY CRAP.

A lot of people think of me as a 100% contemporary girl, but I love a good high fantasy. I love a book that can suck me in and I’m able to just lose myself in the world – and Snow Like Ashes was no different. Raasch built a world that is fairly easy to grasp and keep you engaged throughout the story.

The book focuses on Meira and her fellow Winterian refugee’s battle to regain their kingdom. Meira is one KICK BUTT GIRL and I loved it. A lot of YA heroines are either the hesitant heroine or the semi-hesitant one, but Meira was in the battle. She reminded me a lot of Selena from the Throne of Glass series, with her weapon-wielding-take-down-an-army attitude. I absolutely adored Meira, from the start to finish.

One thing that I think may put people off about this book is the love triangle. But NEVER FEAR – it’s incredibly well done. I was even torn between Mather and Theron (but I think I’m a Theron girl myself – I like all the art he has in his room). The thing about the romance in this book is that it’s not the main focus of the story. The story focuses, rather, on Meira and Winter. Raasch incorporated enough romance to keep all of us romantics engaged, but keeps the attention on Meira’s growth and struggles as a character.

While I reading Snow Like Ashes I was continually thinking, “HOW MUCH MORE CAN HAPPEN IN THIS BOOK?!” There is a battle, a kidnapping, a love triangle, death, and betrayal. It’s so full of events that I was emotionally drained by the end of it. I can’t even imagine what Raasch is going to put into the second one, but I know I am practically salivating for it. I need more Meira! More Theron! More Mather! More Winter! More royalty dramas! More INCREDIBLY WRITTEN BATTLE SCENES (because the ones in this book is spot-on)!

Please give me Ice Like Fire now.Editor’s note: Ice Like Fire will be available October 13!